A federal jury in the Southern District of Mississippi has convicted a California man for transporting a female victim across the U.S. and into the Magnolia State for prostitution purposes.
54-year-old Michael Deon Fulcher is accused of using sexual assault, threats of violence, isolation, control, psychological manipulation, and emotional abuse to compel an unidentified victim to engage in commercial sex between April and June 2020.
The subject is said to have lured the physically injured victim into his car in Las Vegas by making false promises to help her but then brought her to his home, where he sexually assaulted her. Shortly afterward, Fulcher brought the victim to California, where he acted in concert with 35-year-old Jonzie Hamilton to compel the victim to engage in commercial sex acts for several weeks.
According to evidence presented in court, Fulcher required the victim to follow his strict rules, threatened the victim with physical harm, confiscated her money and Social Security debit card, and even had an unlicensed dentist pull out her teeth.
The subject also sent the victim and his cohort across the country to engage in commercial sex, stopping in Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi.
While the victim was on the road, Fulcher required the victim to send him all of her earnings and continued his coercive scheme by threatening the victim with physical harm, controlling access to her phone, isolating her from anyone she knew, and refusing to allow her to receive much-needed medical treatment.
The victim was able to escape from Fulcher in Mississippi.
“This way this victim was trafficked across multiple states and then into Mississippi is an example of how human trafficking affects our entire nation,” U.S. Attorney Todd Gee for the Southern District of Mississippi said. “We will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute human traffickers, like the defendant, as part of our efforts to bring an end to this horrible crime.”
A sentencing hearing for Fulcher is scheduled for April 30. He faces a maximum penalty of life in prison and mandatory restitution for the sex trafficking charge. Hamilton’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for January 31.
“The defendant preyed upon this vulnerable victim and used sexual violence and threats of physical harm to coerce her into commercial sex for his own financial gain,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said. “We thank this victim for bravely facing her trafficker. The Justice Department will vigorously prosecute these cases to hold human traffickers accountable and bring justice to their victims.”
Hamilton previously pleaded guilty to interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution and awaits sentencing.
